1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and system for testing in general, and in particular to a method and system for testing software applications. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for performing load testings on software applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Load testing is a process by which a software application is tested under stress (or load) as the software application will be experiencing during real-time operation environment. Load testing is one of the final testing steps before a software application can be shipped to customers. As such, it is crucial to test the software application in a fashion similar to the manner that the software application will be used in the operation environment of the customers. Hence, a test engineer needs to understand how a human user would use the software application, and then devises a method on how the human usage can be automated through the use of a software testing tool, such as LoadRunner manufactured by Mercury Interactive.
For a load test to be valid, the software testing tool needs to be able to process each step similar to a human user, which requires randomly selecting items from a software application based upon what is returned from a server. For example, in order to test an internet-based software application just as it would be used in an operation environment of customers, the software testing tool must be able to take data that is returned from a web server and uses the data to submit requests similar to a human user would do with the software application. If a load test is performed without using live dynamic data, then the load test is probably invalid because the software application is not being stressed as the software application would be in an actual working environment. Many load tests are not very realistic in that aspect because they only call up application pages that are static. Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and system for performing load tests on software applications.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a test script is initially recorded. A location at which dynamic data are first generated within the recorded test script is then identified. Proper data correlation statements are subsequently inserted into the recorded test script. The inserted data parameters are then substituted throughout the recorded test scripts. After verifying all dynamic data have been captured and replaced, a load test is performed on a software application utilizing the recorded test script.
All objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.